Ships In A Bottle
by DavisScott8
Summary: His hoodie, gray and faded, used to make her feel safe but now she feels as if it’s suffocating her. He finally lets a tear drop down his lonely cheek. He just let her walk out, with out anything more than three words.BL short chapter story.Starts at 401
1. Derailed

_Summary: His hoodie, gray and faded, used to make her feel safe but now she feels as if it's suffocating her and the worst part is; it's all her fault. He finally lets a tear drop down his lonely cheek. He just let her walk out, with out anything more than three words. BL short chapter fic._

_Author's notes: This story is something close to my heart that is personal for me and I'm just tweaking it a bit to fit Brooke and Lucas. Read Review anything. It's my therapy in a way. I don't know how many chapters it will be most likely very short. It's slightly based on the song "Ships In a Bottle" by Butch Walker as well. It's a great song. I suggest you check it out. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill, this characters or the song. _

_Ya know everybody sleeps_

_But I haven't done that in the last few weeks _

_Or so and yeah I know the remedy_

_But that ran out yesterday I can't refill anything_

_Especially my heart especially my brain _

_If I could bottle up this mess I could do it all again_

She buries her hands in her face letting the tears stream down her face and through her fingers, while still wrapped in his hoodie that she holds on to for dear life, her tears drenching the ends of the sleeves. His hoodie, gray and faded, used to make her feel safe but now she feels as if it's suffocating her and the worst part is; it's all her fault. But something inside of her won't allow her to take it off. She wonders if she chose the wrong path for the two of them.

"_I feel like I'm holding on to the two of us for you but not for me."_

"_I'm sorry I kissed Peyton, I should have told you."_

"_It's not about that Luke, it's not about her. This is about me."_

"_I can't do this anymore. I think we need a break."_

_He looks at her with questions in his eyes._

"_A break from us, to figure out what we want and what we need."_

_He looks up at her tears forming in his eyes. He opens his mouth but nothing comes out._

_She walks away and is stopped by his voice._

"_Brooke, I'm sorry."_

_She turns around, hesitant at most._

"_Yeah me too."_

_Before turning around and walking out the door._

He sits in his room. He hasn't moved since she walked out the door. He just sits and stares and replays the events that happened just a mere two hours ago. The sent of her still lingers in his room. He finally lets a tear drop down his lonely cheek. He just let her walk out, with out anything more than three words. She had given him not one but two embarrassing speeches in the last twelve hours and even though he had given her two embarrassing speeches in their entire relationship, he had no words, he couldn't speak but yet there was so much he wanted, no needed to say.

_I love you Brooke, I don't know how else to say it._

_How about how you show it? I am not pushing you away Lucas I am holding on for dear life and why wouldn't you tell me about the kiss and why didn't you call me when you were away and why won't you ever just let me all the way in?_

_She pounded on his chest as she pleaded the end of her speech. And yet all he had to say was…_

_Please don't be mad Brooke. _

Truth was she wasn't mad she was hurt, no shattered would describe it more, she thought to herself. He ran away. She understood he was broken over Keith and not being able to play basketball due to his heart condition but he shut her out. She was his everything or so she thought. The one person he was supposed to come to and cry or scream or punch holes into the walls around. But this time he ran, ran far away and the worst part is he ran far away from her, refusing to give her the chance to let him in or give her the chance to be there for him. He just ran, no phone calls, no letters, nothing. In a blink of an eye he was just…. gone. That was one week and one day ago today.

He didn't mean to hurt her. He wanted so much to let her in but he didn't know how. He had never felt this way about anyone before and as his world crumbled around him he got scared. He didn't know what else to do so he ran. He thought she would understand, thought she needed the space he so desperately wanted to grasp from the road ahead of him, he thought he was doing the right thing. Now he knows he couldn't have been more wrong. This time in a blink of an eye it was her that was gone, running from him and all he could think is, "It's all my fault."

He's been distant lately, she didn't know if it was the horrid events that had happened in the past few weeks or if there was something else, something he was hiding. She found out today that there was a secret he kept; her best friend kissed him during the shooting. Much to her surprise it didn't bother her, not this time; of course it hurt but she knew _he_ loved her and _he_ wasn't going to hurt her again. She knew it didn't mean anything…at least not to _him_. It wasn't about _her_ this time. It was about them. They had drifted apart and she just wanted so badly to get back to where they used to be, when they were happy and in love, living the lives they both knew was right for them. She just happen to find out about the kiss on the wrong day, truth was before she found out about the kiss she knew this break was going to happen and no it was not a break up, just a break, it was her turn to run.

He was broken beyond belief. His tears had run dry as he sat silently on his bed. He had finally moved, if only a few feet between the chair next to his bed _onto_ his bed, still he had moved, at least it was a step. He pulled his laptop close to him as he stared at the picture on his bedside table of him and Brooke, they were happy. He looked at the blank screen for a few seconds before he started typing. He had always had a passion for writing but not until this moment had he felt he need to write, he had to get it all out, he couldn't bear the pain that made his chest want to explode anymore so he wrote and he wrote and the only thing he wrote about was her.

_She was fiercely independent, brilliant and beautiful and brave. In two years she grown more than anyone I had ever known. Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday and she doesn't even know it yet._

She sat in her unfamiliar setting just thinking, wondering if what she did was right. She was at Rachel Gattina's, in her bedroom none the less. This girl was her sworn enemy a week prior to now but at this moment she was living with her, she felt as if she had no one else to turn to and maybe she should give Rachel a chance. Her thought we're interrupted abruptly by the thought of one of her favorite episodes of Friends in which Ross and Rachel take a break.

"_What were you trying to put in her purse?"_

"_You know what I want you to leave get out"_

"_No I want to stay I want to talk about this"_

_As Rachel slams the door she words leave her mouth every so sarcastically._

"_How was she?"_

"_What?"_

"_Was she good?"_

"_Come on Ross you said you wanted to talk about it so let's talk about it, How was she?"_

"_She was…She was ugh… she was different"_

"_Good? Different?"_

"_Nobody likes change, she meant nothing to me!"_

"_And yet she was worth jeopardizing our relationship?"_

"_I didn't think there was a relationship to jeopardize; I thought we were broken up"_

"_We were on a break"_

"_That for all I knew could have lasted forever that to me is a BREAK UP"_

"_You think you are going to get out of this on a technicality"_

"_I'm not trying to get out of anything; I thought our relationship was dead"_

"_Well you sure had a hell of a time at the wake" _

This is when the panic sets in, did she make the right decision, was this going to drive Lucas further away, he only said I'm sorry did he even mean it, was he going to go rushing to Peyton or another random bar slut, and soon settles in oh my god what the fuck have I done. What if Lucas thought it was a break up rather than just a simple break to figure things out. She tries to compose herself but she only cries harder and wraps herself closer to his hoodie; if that was even possible. For a moment she wants to run back to his house as fast as she can to tell him she made a mistake but her thoughts stop her, "People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end". This time she need to believe that more that the last she said it. Last time those words escaped her mouth she truthfully was talking about Keith and Karen and sadly they didn't get their happy ending; she had to believe her and Lucas would get theirs. This time it was in the hands of fate, destiny or what ever the fuck you want to call it. She loves him she just needs so much to believe he loves her back. But more than anything if given the chance she would to do it all again.

He woke up with his laptop still clinging to his hands, eyes red from the tears he cried as he wrote all night. He wrote about how she changed his world, about how he was an asshole and crushed her, about how seeing her but not being with her broke his heart and he longed to be the hand that held hers ever so tightly again, about how she stayed in his room so she didn't have to go to California with the parents who never gave a fucking damn about her, about how he confessed his love for her before she left for the summer, about how she confessed her love for him in 82 letters written each day they spent apart, about how they fell in love, about how she broke his world into pieces the day she told him they needed a break because he knew he broke her heart first and that's why it had to happen and finally about how she was the girl behind the red door and he would see to it that she would have a future with him behind a red door with 2 boys and one girl and they would be a family spending their summers at the beach house in Tree Hill and winters in the south of France and most importantly that if that didn't happen it didn't matter as long as they were together. His thoughts were broken up by the thought of where he needed to go today; his mother's café, where she would be working behind the counter along side his mother. He promised his mom he would help out with deliveries today as Haley and Nathan were gone on their honeymoon in London.

She woke up head aching, stomach feeling as if she was going to run to the nearest bathroom, eyes red and puffy. She spent the night sitting along side Rachel as they downed batches after batches of Rachel's amazing blend of whatever liquors they could find mixed with the various sodas and juices in the fridge. Rachel tried to get her to open up with a few sarcastic comments but not one word escaped her lips, she just pressed the glass against her empty lips and let Rachel's concoction burn down her throat. That was a mistake, she muttered to herself as she gets herself out of bed and thinks about how she needs to get ready for work. That was another mistake she says quietly to herself as she thinks about her place of employment, Karen's Café, the last place she wanted to enter today. She wishes she never took the job back the minute she returned to Tree Hill in the beginning of the school year, but she needed to pay rent and more importantly buy the sexy outfits that Lucas couldn't resist and as he enters her mind she runs to the bathroom empting all the liquor she drank the previous night.

Today they would see each other for the first time in twelve hours. It has only been a short time so it should be easy but this would be one of the hardest days either of them would face.

_I would love it if you reviewed. As stated above I'm writing this as my own person therapy but I will update as fast as possible. But again it will most likely only be a few chapters. _

_Thanks for reading,_

_Angie_


	2. A Walk To Remember

_A Walk to Remember_

_Hey here is chapter two of this journey. Sorry it took so long, it's been a rough week. I'll do my best to update sooner for the next chapter. Again it will be a short chapter fic probably 5 at most. Not a lot of time has passed in this update but I felt these two flashbacks were very important to the story. Hope you enjoy. Thanks to my two best girls Britt and Jules for previewing a bit of this chapter for me, love you both! Oh and thanks to Britt for helping me with chapter titles being movie titles, you are the best BFF! The inspired song Ships In a Bottle by Butch Walker is still as a big part in this chapter as well, the whole story really, check it out it's a great song!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own OTH, these characters or the song._

_I don't wanna know if there's another part of me_

_Don't wanna feel if I'm alive_

_Don't wanna smell the bed where we used to sleep_

_I'm gonna miss it again miss it again_

_Just wanna walk away from the ashes _

_And take the fact the I've been burned_

_And maybe let you know I'm still standing_

_If you miss it again miss it again, I'm around_

Brooke was hesitant to enter the café. The drive over was bad enough in her mind. She had her iPod plugged into her car and every song that came on somehow reminded her of him. Konstantine was the song that played as she drove into a parking spot in front of Karen's Café. The song was 6 minutes and 35 seconds into the song as she threw her car into park and was about to turn the ignition back to turn the car off but she stopped, she couldn't do it and she gets lost in her thoughts; The only reason she had the song on her iPod was due to Lucas….

_Lucas sat on his bed with his laptop as he heard the door open and Brooke come walking in, jumping on his bed and greeting him with a kiss._

"_What cha doing boyfriend"_

"_Just downloading some new music off iTunes, anything you want to listen to pretty girl?"_

"_I don't know, you got anything on there I'd actually like, our tastes in music do seem to differ?"_

"_How bout this Brooke, you tell me one of your favorites songs, if I have it I'll play it if not I'll download it and then I'll play one of my favorite songs for you"_

"_This sounds fun, ok so right now I'm really in to the new Akon and Snoop Dogg song 'I Just Want To Fuck You' you got that one?" she says with a kink in her eyebrow and a seductive smile on her face._

"_No, I'll have to download that one….hmm ok which version edited or not"_

"_Umm Lucas as much as I do love you, you should know I'd want the dirty version"_

"_Ohh right, of course you like to get dirty" he says as he leans up and gives her a kiss that leaves her wanting more._

"_You have no idea Lucas Scott, you better give me your song before things get really dirty" she says as she kisses him in between words with that look in her eyes that is reserved for only him. _

_He looks up and breaks away from the kiss he so desperately wanted to deepen as he starts the song for her._

_The song starts music hitting the keyboards with harmony before the lyrics start as Brooke listens attentively._

"_Way to play such a sad cut my wrists type of song Broody" she says with a smirk on her face_

"_Brooke just listen to the lyrics, you will understand why I picked this song…I promise"_

_They both sit listening, looking at each other trying to read the others faces to figure out what they were thinking. Brooke went from giddy to content just taking in the beautiful lyrics her boyfriend asked her to listen to. She was trying to really figure out the song. _

_Lucas starred into Brooke's eyes trying so intently to figure out her reaction yet with love in his eyes._

_As the song ended tears welled up in Brooke's eyes, she couldn't pinpoint at what lyric it was that he felt this song was made for them but every lyric seemed to speak to her but by the time the song had ended her tears had faded and a smile graced her perfectly dimpled face as she gave him the look he hoped she would._

_They shared a smile before both moving in for a kiss that was no ordinary kiss but one where they both felt the love and warmth from the other's lips so much more than the kiss they shared just 9 minutes and 31 seconds before this particular song started._

_There was no doubt in her mind that he was hers, that he wanted to spend forever with her, he had just opened up his soul to her and she wanted this moment to last forever._

As she came back out of her thoughts she had tears streaming down her face. She had not been full on crying just tears; tears of sadness and fear that made her think she had let that love go or worse that he hadn't felt that way anymore. It killed her to listen to the song but it would have killed her more to turn if off, he was everything to her and she wondered if she was still everything to him… She quickly erased the memory from her mind as she reapplied her make up and made herself presentable to go into work. She needed to be strong, she couldn't look hurt, and mostly she couldn't cry, not in front of him. But sadly as much as it hurt hearing the song, it gave her a bit of hope. And now she was more confused and more lost than the previous day.

He watched her as she parked. He wanted so badly to go up to her car window, give her a kiss, and walk her into work like he had done every other weekend she came to work. But he couldn't do it this time; she didn't want him to and he knew it. They were on a break and he didn't know how to act around her. Did he go up to her and tell her he loved her just like every other time she walked into the café, did he tell her he missed her as he did the last 12 hours of their lives and maybe even longer than that or did he just stay silent and give her the space he needed just one week and two days before today. He just watched her intently as she brushed passed him as she walked into work, fierce smile but broken eyes and heart shattered and went to work as if nothing had happened just a mere 12 hours before.

She had been working for 3 hours and 47 minutes, he had been gone for 2 hours of that time making deliveries but each time he came back from one he would sit at the table that for the last 6 months of their lives was 'there table'. He would read his book and she would watch him as he did, hoping he would steal a glance her way. He never did at least not when she was watching. It was awkward to say the least but she just kept going about her work trying to do everything or anything rather to stay busy and keep him off her mind. She needed so bad for him not to see that she was hurting and how much it killed her to see him. So she placed a smile upon her face and vowed to herself it would stay there the rest of the day.

He sat and read his book glancing up at her after almost every other sentence he read. He didn't want her to see him so when he saw her look away out of the corner of his eye he would look up. He was broken, shattered, and the world that made him happier than he had ever been was being ripped away from him right in front of his eyes; yet he felt powerless to do anything about it, this is what she wanted. He watched as she gathered customer's orders and put her famous fake Brooke Davis smile on her face. He knew she was hurting but felt helpless to do anything about it and each time the phone rang he prayed it was another delivery so he wouldn't have to watch her in pain anymore. He needed to be near her and wished so much that she wanted to be wrapped in his arms as well but her face spoke volumes. He knew that he was the last person she wanted to see this Saturday afternoon.

Her shift was almost over, the café almost closed and at this particular hour it was empty, well all but her, Karen and Lucas. He was still at 'their' table and Karen was in the back. She grabbed the broom to start the clean up as no one was there and had not been for the last 45 minutes. To her the faster she could get out of here the better. As she started to clean up Karen came out from the back and informed Brooke and Lucas that she was going to take off early and asked if they would be ok closing up. Lucas looked up from his book and Brooke turned around and stopped sweeping and they locked eyes for the first time that day. A moment had passed and Karen had not received a response and look between the two of them waiting for an answer. "Hey, Brooke…Lucas…is that going to be ok?" "Oh, yeah mom that's fine go ahead" "Yeah, Karen we will be fine" "Ok Lucas I'll see you at home, Brooke will I be seeing you as well" Karen clearly didn't know of the break her and Lucas were currently on and Brooke didn't want to be the one to tell her so she smiled at Karen "Not tonight Karen maybe another night". As Brooke continued to sweep the back room Lucas fixed his eyes on her as he got caught up in the past…

"_Brooke, Lucas do you mind closing up for me I've been here all day every night this week and I am exhausted."_

"_No problem Karen we can handle it"_

"_Yeah not a problem at all Mom go ahead me and Brooke can close up"_

"_Thanks but you two behave please"_

_They both gave Karen a laugh as she walked out the door and Lucas followed to lock the door as she left. Brooke began sweeping as Lucas came up behind her hugging her from and placing his lips along her neck and down to her shoulder._

"_Lucas, how am I supposed to get any work done with you teasing me like this?"_

"_Who says I'm teasing you?" Lucas whispers in her ear as he continues to kiss her neck._

_As Brooke spins herself around capturing her lips on his in a gentle kiss she whispers back to him "Are you sure about this, Lucas, I mean here now, what if someone walks in, the café isn't exactly closed yet"_

_Foreheads touching, lips grazing each others almost touching but not just yet, eyes locked in to one another's as Lucas speaks softly "But I already locked the door"._

_That was all it took before Brooke was crashing her lips on to his, hands around his neck, tongues intertwining._

_Lucas picks Brooke up as she wraps her legs around his waist and he moves her on to the counter top not taking his lips off hers for one second. _

"_Who knew you could get so dirty Lucas Scott"_

"_Well this is what you do to me pretty girl" Lucas says with a smirk on his face as he throws the kitchen utensils on to the floor, clearing space on the counter as he props her further upon it. Brooke wraps her hands around his neck and pulls him in for a gentle kiss as Lucas takes control and deepens the kiss. Before they know it clothes are being ripped off as Lucas picks Brooke up again moving her up against the wall as they continue to intertwine their tongues together and end up on the floor as Brooke has her way with Lucas._

_Brooke folds herself into Lucas' shoulder as she draws circles on his chest. "That was so amazing, I could get used to this everyday Luke"_

"_Oh Brooke, me too, I want to spend forever with you, I love you so much pretty girl"_

"_I love you too boyfriend…even though I'm going to have to clean this floor all over again"_

_They laughed together and Brooke looks up into Lucas' eyes with a kink in her eyebrow and a smirk on her face "But that was totally worth it"._

Lucas kept his gaze on Brooke as she finished sweeping and mopping the floor of the café and saw a smile grace her lips. This time it wasn't the fake or fierce smile she had put on for the better part of the day but a true happy Brooke Davis smile. He couldn't help but wonder if she was caught up in the same memory he had just replayed in his mind as well. His heart hoped the reason why that beautiful smile was upon her face was due to that amazing night the two of them spent together in the very café they were standing in, the place where everything was better and everything was safe as stated on the sign above Brooke.

Lucas was hesitant at most to approach the girl he loved with all his heart, the girl who he was unsure of the title to him right now, was she still his girlfriend, were they broken up were they not, were they friends? He came to the conclusion that it didn't matter the title but right now she was the girl he loved and the girl he hoped with all his heart loved him back just the same. He walked up behind her scared shitless but he needed to talk to her, he couldn't go this whole day without saying one word to her.

"Hey Brooke" he said as he gave a half smile in her direction, close enough to touch her but keeping his distance for her sake.

"Luke, hey" she spoke softly looking down at the floor avoiding eye contact with him.

"Brooke, I know we are doing this whole break thing but I just wanted to say I saw you smile and well I know you are hurting over this too but it was nice to see you genuinely smile, I like to see you happy..umm..I guess I just wanted to tell you that"

She kept her eyes glued to the floor. "Umm…ah…thanks Lucas"

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly as he whispered softly into her ear "I miss you pretty girl"

Brooke broke away from Lucas' tight grip and looked him in the eyes for the first time that night. "Luke, are we done closing up?"

Lucas' face dropped as he looked back into her beautiful brown eyes "Uh, yeah, Brooke we are"

Brooke ripped off her apron, turned around, gave a faint whisper "Ok good, I'll see ya later" and walked out the door. Lucas stood and watched as she walked out of his world once again, just as she did the night before. Once she was out the door he had tears forming in his once bright blue eyes and threw his fist close to the nearest wall without hitting it but the anger built up inside his chest wanted so much to puncture a hole in the wall closest to him instead he threw his fist in to the air. And once Brooke walked out the door and turned the corner gaining ground closer to her car she leaned up against the wall of the café with tears streaming down her face, thinking about the events that just went on the other side of the thick brick wall, wishing she had let those four words escape her lips "I miss you too".

Ten minutes later he was still staring at the door and she was still leaning up against the brick wall both wondering where this journey was going to lead them tomorrow.

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter a bit more time will pass in the next one I promise, just felt the feeling of this day was needed as most of this entire story is a replica of my life just transformed into BL._

**BRUCAS1 – **Thanks so much! This will definitely continue, although it will be short as well. Thanks again!

**Britt- **Thanks so much for your review! I love you too! I'm glad you liked it, just writing for the heart, you know that lol. We gotta believe BL will get their happy ending! Thanks for reviewing and the title idea, you're the best!

**Jules- **Thank you so much hun! I'm just writing straight from the heart ya know. Glad you like it, it means a lot!

**Princesakarlita411- **Thank you! I know it's sad but no one does the angst better that BL right, lol. As far as if they will get back together well I don't want to give it away but I am die hard BL shipper at heart!

**othfan326- **Thank you! I totally agree with you, they are an amazing couple for sure and will be again just keep the faith alive!

**Exist to Inspire- **Thank you so much for reviewing. I'll do my best to update often!


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